Been on the Ozempic for close to 2 months now and decided to check my stats as I had been going from memory rather than my training notes, which I only tend to use to record lifting PBs etc.
Also bought a new set of scales. Not necessarily a good idea when you want to build muscle whilst burning fat, but I wanted to get a measure of how/if the 'zempic was working.
Turns out that I've been around the 16 stone mark for the best part of 5 years, which makes sense as I've been focusing on form and maintaining muscle rather than building it (not the easiest task at 51). When I gave up the half-marathon stuff in 2017, I was worried I'd put on visceral fat as my knee injury meant running those distances was no longer an option. Fortunately, I never actually put on much, if any fat, I just had a bit of a gut that, while it wasn't problematic, I just didn't like the look of it.
No matter how much cross-trainer or cycling cardio I tried, it just wasn't shifting. My shoulders, chest, biceps/triceps, lats and quads all looked good to me (and Mrs Russ
) but the gut was really p***ing me off.
Anyway, after using the Ozempic, I've dropped 8lb, and carrying somewhat less weight means I can go further with the cardio (my resting heart rate is on a nice downward trajectory and I've needed to add an extra hole to all 3 of my belts).
If I can hit 15 stone consistently, then as long as my knee is strapped up nicely, I may not be able to return to my half-marathon days, but I'm certain I can hit a regular 10k in a few months.